Embers of Desire V

// ------------------------------------ //

patreon.com/nneeil (up to 15 chapters ahead of current release)

https://discord.gg/xZqYt267NH

Oh, guys, if you have an account on ff.net, and if it's not too much trouble, consider dropping a follow and fav there too. ^^

On with the chapter!

// ------------------------------------ //

The next day didn't come with a sunny morning. The sky in Seoul was overcast, with the first signs of rain battering over the empty streets. 

Leandro didn't sleep much. In fact, he's been awake long enough to see Hari sneak into his room and tuck under the sheets with them. 

Nari had monopolized his right arm. Hari had his left one possessively hugged between her breasts and legs. The aftermath of their sleeping positions was something you'd see from a BJJ match.

Leandro enjoyed their cuddles, yes, but his limbs were starting to cramp up. And despite trying hard not to make any movements or sudden noises, a bit of shifting around led to Nari subconsciously grumbling like a kitty.

"Anng..." She moved to bury her nose in the crook of his neck, her lower body intertwined with his legs.

He exhaled, remembering the kiss they shared the night prior. The softness of her lips. Her smile afterwards, and everything in between. It was not in his plans to make his relationship with Nari ambiguous. 

He couldn't shake off the thought that maybe, just maybe, Nari knew exactly what she was doing. She knew he wouldn't necessarily reject her kiss, or maybe she took a risk and intentionally set things in motion. 

And as he looked to his left, Nari's cute, blushing face crossfaded into the vivid sequence of Hari's tongue clinging and wrapping around him like a python. 

Regardless of Nari, or Hari's reason, he was now, irrefutably, entangled with three women. 

Leandro squeezed his eyes shut and calmed his breathing, effectively emptying his mind. He wouldn't mind enjoying the combined warmth of his adopted sisters, but he wasn't the type to stay idle in bed while there was still so much to do. 

He glanced down at Nari, tickling her right on her exposed neck. She squirmed a little, and he untangled himself with expert finesse. She mumbled under her breath before curling up, smiling in her sleep. 

It took a more cunning approach to trick Hari, but substituting himself with one of the many dolls Nari had haphazardly thrown all over the bed allowed him to smoothly dislodge himself without waking any of them up. 

Leandro grabbed his phone as he gazed back and forth at their cute, sleeping figures before leaving the bedroom.

—6 missed calls from 'Mother'. 

—10 missed calls from 'Foxy Hee'. 

—5 unread messages from 'Foxy Hee'.

—7 missed calls from 'Bada'.

—3 unread messages from 'Bada'.

Oh, right. He had put his phone on silent mode because of the movie. And phones don't work inside the Monolith. 

'Yuhee and Bada can wait for a bit.'

Leandro walked into the living room and turned the TV on as he dialed his mother's number. A news anchor was already talking about the Monolith. 

"We've received more news from the Monolith. Attempts at clearing the 2nd Floor ended in tragic failure as over a hundred casualties have been reported all over the globe—"

Meanwhile, his phone continued ringing for a bit more before someone picked up.

—Leandro, oh God, are you okay?!

—Y-You weren't answering! I thought…

"Mother…"

It had been a long while since he heard her voice. Seriously, he didn't know how to feel about it. 

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Everyone's fine. Nari and Hari Noona were a bit shaken, but no one's hurt."

—Thank God…

—We've been so worried! 

—I still can't believe this is happening. 

Leandro closed his eyes for a few moments. Myeong's voice invoked a bit of nostalgia. 

—Leandro, listen… we don't know what's going on inside there. The situation here has calmed down, but I've heard that many people died. 

"That's awful." He said calmly, almost bored, as he surfed through the channels, looking for the latest news. With a frown on his face, he turned it off. "When are you coming back? You'll be safer here."

—Ah, about that… we don't know, honey. It might take a while still. Your father and I are working on something very, very important.

—I can't tell you much, but we're safe here. Your dad misses you. 'Chin up, mi hijo.' as he always says.

"..."

Diego's bright smile appeared in his mind. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he still had parents. He huffed a chuckle. 

"Don't do anything dangerous." Ironic, coming from him. 

—You should say that to your father! 

She laughed softly. 

—That man has a hero complex the size of that fucking Monolith! 

"It's a man's dream to save the world and impress women." 

—He better not be trying to impress someone else!

Leandro rolled his eyes. "Give him some credit."

—I do! I'm a virtuous wife!

He smirked, not that she could see it. 

—Anyway, is the money we've been sending you enough? 

"Oh, yeah. More than enough, actually."

—That's great to hear! If you need more, let us know~

Leandro smiled slightly. "I understand. I hope to see you soon."

—Me too, dear. Me too. 

Some noises rang out from her end of the line. Impatient shouting and a flurry of footsteps. 

—Oh, I have to go. Make sure to eat healthy, and treat the girls nicely. Hari has said many positive things about you. I'd rather not hear that you've been causing mischief. 

'I don't think you want to hear what kind of mischief me and her got up to.'

"Looks like you're busy. Go ahead and do what you have to do. Don't worry about the girls. You raised me well, didn't you?"

—Damn right, son. Damn right. I've got to run now. Stay out of trouble. I love you, Leandro! Byeee~

She hung up.

Leandro stood up and approached the window. For the next few days, entrance to the Monolith won't be permitted—especially after the mass death of so many people due to it. The 2nd floor would stay uncleared for a while. 

At least, not until Leandro himself took care of it. 

The reason he did not proceed to the 2nd floor after clearing the 1st was because it'd take way more time to clear it, and he had to prepare some things in advance as well, both for the 2nd floor and for a possible foray into the 3rd. 

It wasn't as simple as finding the entrance to the next floor, but finding a 'way' past the hordes of enemies blocking it. While he could somehow manage alone, it wasn't a bad idea to tag along a reliable group, at least until he had his Aura raised to a more acceptable level. 

It was only normal so many people died and they had to retreat. Farming monsters on the 1st floor was the best approach for the time being, but now the military had made it a restricted zone. 

"What a pain in the ass."

However, there was a way around it. Leandro didn't know how many Monoliths appeared in the world. Technically, there should have been one for every capital and densely populated area. 

Did that also apply to islands as well? There was just so much personnel that could be stationed anywhere at any time. With the onset of the apocalypse, the government might recall their troops to bolster the country's defenses. 

The system did say that threats to the human race would emerge soon. That itself was an already terrifying fact.

The first days of the apocalypse were safe for the time being. There were many unknown dangers looming in the future, of that Leandro was certain.

And in light of that, it was reasonable to suspect that South Korea would not waste so many talented soldiers inside of Monoliths.

It also meant that there must be other places where Monoliths emerged that weren't necessarily famous or populated enough to garner much attention from the public.

Leandro dialed Yuhee this time, pacing back and forth in the living room.

—Leandro~!

Yuhee didn't wait a beat. Her soft voice tickled his ear. It was inexplicably cute. And right now, that kind of voice might prove to be quite helpful.

He needed to play his cards right.

"Hello, Noona." He began as calmly as possible. 

—You were okay, Leandro, weren't you~ as expected of you. 

Her breathing turned a little heavier. The rustling of clothes sounded out, though it was too vague to possibly imagine what she might have been doing. 

—You've been ignoring me. Ha… 

Her tone was accusatory, with hints of playfulness. Typical Yuhee. 

—Even in the apocalypse, you still play hard to get.

"I don't play, and you know that."

—I wonder how many women you've said that to. Asshole.

"Reminding me of yours all of a sudden?" Leandro chuckled softly. 

—...

—You're a piece of shit, you know that?

"Hm-hm." He hummed, a slight smile on his face. "Are you okay though?"

—Oh, yeah. All good. Just lost some sleep. Used to it.

She sounded nonchalant, as if the 'integration' was just another Tuesday to hers. 

That's a trait Leandro liked about her. The apocalypse could hardly faze her, but a thumb in her a—

—You're thinking about something stupid and insulting, aren't you?

"Not at all." Leandro assured with an even voice, absentmindedly tapping a finger on a cabinet. "I'm glad you're okay. Someone's gotta keep that idiot brother of yours in check."

—Hoh? Did he do something?

"No… but just thinking about his face kind of pisses me off."

She burst out laughing.

—I'll pass your regards to him.

"Do so." Leandro idly filled a cup with some juice. "Also, if it's not too much trouble, I have a request for you."

—A request?

Yuhee sounded curious. 

"Yeah. You're a chaebol, aren't you? Would it be too much trouble to lend me a private jet with a crew for a couple of days?"

—What do you need it for?

"I'd like to take a tour over some of the islands closest to us. Preferably the ones with no restricted access or of particular strategic importance."

—...

—I see. So it's about the Tower, huh?

Leandro smiled as he took a sip of the juice. "You're quick to catch on. I like that."

—Let me guess. You're that fool that entered the Monolith whom I've been hearing about.

"You're too beautiful to be that smart." 

—If you work for me, I can lend one to you anytime you want. And you can get to see me everyday as well! 

"Alright… I'm hanging up."

—No! Wait! Wait!

"I'm waiting. Make it quick."

—Fine… forget about that, but I want to come with you. 

Leandro frowned, refilling his cup. "Why? Aren't you too busy to take leave from work?" 

—My executives can oversee the operations within the company without my constant supervision. 

"Delegating all the grunt work to your minions, huh?"

—Hm-hm. See the things I do for you?

"That's why you're my fourth favorite person."

—O-Only fourth!?

Yuhee sputtered in disbelief. 

"You used to be third, but you've been demoted. Work hard."

And then he hung up. 

••••

•••

••

•

"Haaah? You're going where?!"

Nari, predictably, didn't take it too well. To be fair, neither did Hari, but her silence was more of a stage for him to explain himself. 

Leandro had a suitcase ready. His sword would also be traveling with him; he had it stored in his inventory. Such a reliable ability.

"I'm going to the Monolith, but since they've restricted the access here, I'm going somewhere less… regulated, so to speak." 

Nari definitely wanted to stop him, but she must have remembered the conversation they had last night and decided against it. "I hate this…"

"Come on." Leandro softly intertwined his fingers with hers. "The situation may seem fine for now, but we don't know what will happen a month from now, or even a week. Here, I have a gift for you. Inventory."

She watched in amazement as he plunged his hand inside a warped space and retrieved a very ugly-looking book. 

"W-What is this…"

Nari analyzed the book in his hand with the high alert of a cat presented with a foreign, threatening object. God, he could already imagine her poking it around with her paws before deeming it safe and non-threatening. 

The random thought brought a smile to his face.

Hari approached as well, a look of wonder on her delicate face. 

"This is a tome I acquired after killing one of the bad guys on the 1st floor. It contains the insight of a shaman." Leandro said, handing it to Nari. She gingerly took it. Surprise flashed across her face as a system screen appeared in front of her. "In basic terms—you can do magic. Crazy, right? If I hadn't seen it with my eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Woah… really?! You mean it, Oppa?"

Nari held the tome close to her chest, eyes as wide as saucers. 

"I promise." A soft laugh rumbled in his chest. "Who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to shoot fireballs. It'd certainly make your idol performances a sight to behold." 

Her cheeks flushed slightly, eyes slightly heavy-lidded. 

"Thank you…"

She said, hiding her smile behind the rim of the tome. 

Leandro turned his attention to Hari. He lightly pinched her nose, causing the woman to go cross-eyed and recoil. "Noona, unfortunately I don't have anything else to give you, but I promise I'll get you something nice from this excursion. For now, I hope this will do."

"Oh, no. You don't have—" Hari immediately raised her hands to dissuade him, but paused in shock when Leandro swept her fringe back, and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "...to…" 

"I don't have to, sure, but I want to."

Leandro ruffled her hair, completely ruining the moment. Hari pouted, holding her tousled hair with all the resentment of a rabbit who had been betrayed by its carrot. 

"Hah…"

She exhaled slightly, smiling at him.

"Just be safe…"

"And don't get too close to that Unnie. Make sure you're never alone with her." Nari advised with a serious look on her face. "She's dangerous." She mumbled, territorially. 

"Of course. Of course." Leandro tugged at the collar of his immaculate, dress shirt. Perhaps he shouldn't have agreed to dress fancily, but it was Yuhee's stupid, albeit harmless, request. "I'll be back before you know it."

"If you don't…" Nari trailed off with a smile, a slight, adorable blush on her face as she subtly leaned into him. 

"You'll lock me up in the basement?" He huffed, tugging insistently at his collar—the damn thing was fucking tight. 

"I'll lock you up in the basement… and force you to watch the sequel of that movie."

Leandro blinked, genuinely surprised. "There's a sequel?"

Nari smiled mysteriously, and something about the way she stared at him had changed. Yeah. Definitely changed.